Chapter 226: What Are You Afraid Of? He Is On Our Team (160k Update, Please Vote)

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Domestic fans have dug up a post Tang Ye made on Tieba in 2008.

A post Tang Ye made on Tieba in 2008?

Unsurprisingly, this news quickly attracted the attention of fans.

Let's see what exactly is going on.

Tang Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye (OP) (Level 13): I'm truly done. Zheng Zhi is really terrible. Honestly, if I passed this ball, I'd score easily. Zheng Zhi's passing isn't even as steady as Sun Jihai's. — (2008.6.7) 22:17

Tieba User 2341 (Level 6): I think the OP is just a complete football blind. Isn't Zheng Zhi steady enough? — 22:21

Tang Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye (OP): Zheng Zhi's range of movement is too limited. If he had gone to the left flank during that offensive wave in the first half, it would have worked out — 22:23

Tieba User 2341 (Level 6): Go to the left flank? What about the midfield then? — 22:24

Tang Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye (OP): Teammates can cover the position. Hao Hao Junmin and Huang Bowen can both cover Zheng Zhi's spot. Wait, my teacher is coming to check the dorm soon, I'll talk to you later. Trust me, I'm from a professional football school — 22:25

Tieba User 2341 (Level 6): So you're just a damn elementary school student. I'm not talking to you anymore. With your level of understanding, you'll never make the national team even if you try for two lifetimes — 22:25

Tang Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye (OP): Come on, come on, are you still there? — 23:12

Tang Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye (OP): My teacher has already left. Come out, we haven't finished talking. I can make the national team; my coach has high hopes for me — 23:13

"..."

【Hahahaha】

【How old was Tang Tang Qiuwang in 2008, 9 years old?】

【"My teacher is coming to check the dorm soon"】

【Go to the left flank? Damn, so the seed of pretending to be a forward was planted back then】

【Has Tang Tang Qiuwang ever thought that one day he would be teammates with Zheng Zhi?】

【"Zheng Zhi is really terrible"】

【Dorm-checking midfielder. If there was no teacher checking the dorm, I feel like Tang Tang Qiuwang could have chatted for a long time】

【Chat about what? They saw Tang Ye was an elementary school student and stopped talking to him】

When the news broke, Tang Ye's first training session with the squad hadn't even ended; he had no idea his past had already been exposed by fans.

This news, featuring a screenshot from Tieba, received over 20,000 comments on Check Dongqiu Di.

No way, this is Tang Tang Qiuwang's popularity!

Even if it's the elementary school version, he's still the King of Football!

With the Asian Cup qualifier against South Korea approaching, Check Dongqiu Di is now full of news about the national team (such as screenshots of Tang Ye's elementary school Tieba posts).

Don't be fooled by the appearance that no one supports the national team; that's all an illusion.

Every time a crucial match is actually approaching, the Check Dongqiu Di app is full of fans discussing lineups and tactics.

They have to curse, but watching and cursing aren't mutually exclusive.

Watch then curse, curse then watch again; this is the strange cycle of national team fans.

But this year, the situation is a bit different.

World Cup champion coach Lippi plus La Liga and Europa League double assist king GGBond.

The national team has received an epic upgrade!

"Look at me! Look at me!"

Wu Lei passed the ball to Tang Ye on his left; the latter decisively lofted the ball into the penalty area.

Yu Yu Dabao headed it straight in!

The ball went in!

"Wow, here it comes again!"

Mataloni quickly entered the data into the computer.

Lippi blew the whistle, signaling the players to rest for a moment, while he himself went to the substitute bench to study the relevant data from this 20-minute training match with Mataloni.

Four high-speed cameras were placed around the training ground. Just like during a match, these cameras establish a coordinate system on the field, transmitting the players' real-time movement and ball contact situations to the computer.

Mataloni only needs to manually input the goal scorer and the assist provider to get the complete data!

Noticing Lippi walking over, Mataloni moved the screen in front of Lippi.

The final score between Team A and Team B was 5:3.

Lippi mainly looked at the offensive heat map; in Team A's offensive heat map, the right side was much darker in color than the left.

This indicates that Team A mainly launched attacks relying on the right flank where Wu Lei was, which fits the national team's situation in official matches very well.

"Not bad, but our attack is a bit too shallow; we didn't penetrate the baseline."

Lippi gestured on the screen, his finger slowly moving to the position of the number "19".

This is Tang Ye's number for the national team.

"Click on this."

As Lippi spoke, Mataloni quickly operated the touchpad to click on Tang Ye's number, displaying Tang Ye's data from this 20-minute training match.

Tang Ye: 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 chances created.

Team A: 1 goal, 4 assists, 160% offensive participation rate.

Team B: 2 goals, 1 assist, 267% offensive participation rate.

"..."

Lippi turned his head to look at Mataloni.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!"

Mataloni had mixed up Tang Ye's offensive data from Team A and Team B.

Adjust quickly!

Team A: 1 goal, 4 assists, 100% offensive involvement rate.

Team B: 2 goals, 1 assist, 100% offensive involvement rate.

These are the correct statistics.

Tang Ye, who started playing for Team B before being switched to Team A, was involved in all eight goals scored during the training match just now.

Lippi said nothing, merely narrowing his eyes as he looked at Tang Ye's data.

Although he created eight absolute offensive opportunities, Tang Ye also lost possession seven times.

In a twenty-minute small-sided match, he lost possession seven times.

This equals the total number of times Team A lost possession!

"Indeed, a very strange fellow..."

Lippi took a deep breath, then looked again at Tang Ye's heat map of positioning.

The arc at the top of the box, the goal line, the touchline—he went everywhere, yet stayed nowhere for long.

Truly sharing the rain and dew equally!

Straightening his back, Lippi's brain was forcing itself to accept this fact.

The Chinese men's football team was like a pit riddled with holes of all sizes; Lippi wanted to patch the pit, but alas, there were too many holes to even know where to begin.

Then suddenly, a bizarrely shaped object fell from the sky, slamming onto the pit with a "Bang!", perfectly filling every single hole within the great depression!

And this so-called bizarrely shaped object was Tang Ye.

King Tang of the Ball!

Never before in the global football scene had a player with such a unique style appeared.

Call him a classical attacking midfielder, yet he releases the ball in a single touch.

Call him a standard offensive playmaker, yet he can dribble the ball, wandering wildly between the arc and the wings.

What is this?

This is a bizarrely shaped object!

The stone that patches the heavens for the Chinese men's football team!

"Damn awesome, Tang Ye!"

Wu Lei placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, and the two walked together toward the canteen.

Why did Wu Lei seek out Tang Ye immediately after training ended? Because he now felt somewhat guilty.

If not for him wasting two one-on-one chances, Team A would already be leading Team B 7–3.

"Haha, it was alright, Brother Lei."

Tang Ye was in a very good mood right now.

His excellent performance in today's training was one reason for this.

There was another, more important reason: he had discovered that the national team's training intensity was not high; it could even be said to be far lower than Villarreal's training intensity.

Scoring goals just by playing casually—this was the training method Tang Ye had been dreaming of!

"Your passing today was indeed impressive; sometimes I don't even know when you released the ball."

Wu Lei looked at the football boots Tang Ye was wearing—his own boots.

They were the same pair of shoes, so why could Tang Ye produce such different effects with them at his feet?

"It's fine, Brother Lei, you don't need to worry about me."

Tang Ye pointed toward the distant goal: "Just run forward whenever you see an opportunity; I'm always watching you."

"Always watching me?"

Wu Lei felt somewhat puzzled by Tang Ye's words: "But I felt you were often looking to the left; sometimes I ran to the right-wing goal line, yet you were still looking left."

"Just glancing a few seconds ahead is enough; I can calculate roughly where you'll be standing."

Tang Ye explained.

"Calculate? Calculate it out?"

Wu Lei stretched his neck forward.

Could... could he really?

Was this the strength behind twenty-five assists in twenty-eight La Liga rounds?

First glance right, then glance left.

At that moment, his eyes were looking at the left flank, but his brain was calculating the positions of teammates and opposing defenders on the right flank.

Which meant...

Wu Lei took a deep breath.

Tang Ye could capture the positions of every single player in the entire attacking third at any time.

Holy crap!

"Damn, this is truly f***ing heaven-defying, damn it!"

After training ended, the players gathered in the canteen; just as Tang Ye's mother called him, Wu Lei seized the opportunity to tell Tang Ye's national team teammates what Tang Ye had just told him.

"That's impossible; calculating the positions of all attacking players directly—doesn't that mean he could pass even with his back turned to the attack?"

Wang Wang Dalei expressed disbelief at this, but Feng Feng Xiaoting reminded him: "During training just now, one of his passes to Zhang Yuning was made without him lifting his head to look."

"I didn't react in time back then, but I ran up very quickly."

Zhang Zhang Yuning added; the one-on-one chance Tang Ye passed to him was his only goal today, so he remembered it very clearly.

"Then isn't he invincible? The strikers can run freely, and we just wait for the opponent's goal to explode."

Being a goalkeeper, Wang Wang Dalei's body involuntarily began to tremble.

GGBond is exactly like this.

His age and appearance always caused opponents to overlook his immense strength!

"Otherwise, why did Barcelona lose to Villarreal?" Zheng Zhi said. "I stayed up late watching the Copa del Rey final; Barcelona conceded four goals, and all four were related to Tang Ye. Seeing his ability to change rhythm, I know that in the next valuation update, Little Tang will be worth at least 80 million, and that's a conservative estimate."

"Yes, that change of rhythm was truly formidable."

Zhang Zhang Linpeng cut in: "I faced Tang Ye many times on the wing; he didn't use any flashy moves at all, he just purely used his rhythm to shake me off."

"Haha, Zhang Linpeng, aren't you the Chinese Super League's Ramos? How could you not stop Tang Ye?"

Feng Feng Xiaoting put his arm around Zhang Zhang Linpeng's shoulder.

"Forget the Chinese Super League Ramos; even the real Ramos would struggle against him."

Wu Lei pondered carefully: "To play against Tang Ye, the forward press must be fierce; it's not that we can't give him a chance to control the ball, we can't even give him a chance to touch it."

The reason Tang Ye could perform well in the high-intensity pressing environment of La Liga was that his first-touch passing ability was crucial.

He had his own way of dealing with pressure!

That was to kick the ball out the instant he touched it!

Listening to his teammates chat, the young player Zhang Zhang Yuning lowered his head and suddenly said softly: "You all... what are you afraid of? He is on our team."

"Hmm, that's right."

!

Wu Lei suddenly lifted his head, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.

Tang Ye, having finished his phone call, walked back in from outside; Zhang Zhang Yuning made room for him, and Tang Ye, supporting himself with one hand on Zhang Zhang Yuning's shoulder and the other on the table, successfully squeezed in.

"Brother Ning, your shoulders are so broad."

Zhang Zhang Yuning pulled down his short sleeve to show Tang Ye his muscles: "They must be strong, otherwise you can't win the ball in the penalty area."

"By the way, Tang Ye, you are on a loan contract at Villarreal; have you decided where you will go next season?"

As soon as Zheng Zhi finished speaking, the attention of all the surrounding players shifted over; with so many eyes looking at him, Tang Ye felt a bit of pressure.

"I don't know either; it's still early, let's just take down South Korea first."

"Haha!"

"Yes, let's take down South Korea first!"

Feng Feng Xiaoting expressed his approval of Tang Ye's words.

Although the Chinese national team currently had only two points, Lippi had conducted weeks of targeted training for the players starting in December, which made the Chinese footballers quite confident now.

Of course, there was another reason for the players' growing confidence.

The La Liga assist king had arrived!

Time moved to March 22, and Tang Ye traveled with the team to Changsha.

This was the venue for the sixth round of the Asian qualifiers match between the Chinese team and the South Korean team.

"Tang Ye!"

"Go Tang Ye, go Tang Ye!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, crush South Korea!"

The hotel entrance was filled with fans who had traveled from far and wide; Tang Ye had just stepped off the bus when he heard someone shouting his name.

"You really have a lot of fans."

Zhang Zhang Yuning turned to look; among the fans staking out the hotel, more than half were shouting Tang Ye's name.

"Haha."

Tang Ye took a marker pen and wrote his name on the photos handed to him by the fans: "Thank you, thank you all."

"Here, wait a moment."

Tang Ye swung his backpack around to the front.

He had a habit of giving fans a piece of his chewing gum along with his autograph.

Although chewing gum was not expensive, fans who received his gum were often extremely happy; this was something Tang Ye discovered when he first started playing at Villarreal, and he had maintained this habit ever since.

"Chinese team!"

"Go!"

"Chinese team!"

"Go!"

"..."

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: In the sixth round of the Asian qualifiers, the Chinese national team hosts South Korea in Changsha; will Tang Ye get a chance to play?

"China Football Daily"—Over 170 reporters attended the pre-match press conference for the Chinese team against South Korea, including 147 Chinese journalists.

Click, click!

Inside the press conference room, Lippi, Madaloni, and Wen Wen Qianshi sat together, while countless reporters filled the seats below.

"Will Tang Ye play?"

"Mr. Marcello, will Tang Ye play today?"

The reporters' first question went straight to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye was included in the large squad list announced by the team before the match.

However, being included in the squad list did not necessarily mean he would get a chance to play.

The camera focused on Lippi, who was sitting in the center.

【Lippi, be sensible!】

【Even though we've only trained for a few days, I feel starting Tang Tang Qiuwang can't go wrong.】

【It's hard to say; Son Heung-min also just returned, and he wasn't even included in the squad today.】

【Can Son Heung-min compare to me, Tang Tang Qiuwang?】

【Mr. Marcello, let Tang Ye lead us to Russia!】

"Hmm..."

Lippi picked up the microphone before him: "I think Tang will play."

Click-click!

Click-click-click-click!

"Facing a powerful South Korean team after earning only two points in five rounds, do we have any hope of winning this match?"

Looking at the camera, Lippi's expression was firm: "I believe we have a chance to win."

Check Dongqiu Di live report: With four hours remaining until kickoff, Lippi stated during his press interview that Tang Ye would take the field.

As the match time drew nearer, the fans' hearts gradually grew tense.

Of course, it wasn't just the fans who were nervous; the Chinese national team players were under immense pressure as well!

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: The national football team announces the roster against South Korea, led by Gao Lin and Wu Lei, with Tang Ye in the starting lineup.

【Lippi? Saint Lippi!】

【Straight into the starting lineup; Lippi knows exactly what the fans want to see.】

【First training session four days ago, yet starting directly against South Korea today; if you told me Tang Ye has nude photos of Lippi, I'd believe it.】

【Back when he was at Utrecht, many fans also claimed Tang Ye had nude photos of Ten Hag; I can only say those people are pure haters.】

【Awesome, taking off!】

One hour before kickoff, after announcing the starting lineup, Lippi went straight to Tang Ye, who was sitting on a bench: "Tom, must you chew gum to perform at your best?"

"Uh..."

Someone had asked him this question before; to be honest, Tang Ye didn't know how to answer.

"It's fine; if that's the case, just tell me directly. Don't hide anything."

After hearing the words translated by Wen Huang Qian, Tang Ye hesitated slightly: "I'm not sure chewing gum makes me play better, but if I can chew gum while playing, I feel more comfortable internally."

Lippi patted Tang Ye on the shoulder, then moved to the center of the locker room: "Does anyone have shorts? The kind with pockets."

The players looked at each other; at that moment, Feng Feng Xiaoting stood up, took a pair of black Nike shorts out of his bag.

Lippi tossed the shorts to Tang Ye: "Wear these underneath; they have pockets where you can keep your gum."

Wow!

Tang Ye's eyes lit up.

Although wearing two pairs of shorts was somewhat uncomfortable, if there was a place to keep his gum, he was willing to endure a little discomfort.

"Thanks, Brother Ting!"

"It's just a pair of shorts; you can even keep them if you want."

After settling Tang Ye's matter, Lippi began analyzing tactics for the team, while Tang Ye stood aside taking off his pants.

The scene on the sidelines looked a bit hard to judge.

However, the focus wasn't on Tang Ye taking off his pants, but on the tactics Lippi was explaining.

"Even though this is a home game, we must be clear: we are the weaker side, so we must start steady. For at least the first twenty minutes, our main task is defense."

"Later, we'll see; depending on the situation, I will tell you the subsequent tactics."

Time passed quickly; soon Tang Ye and his teammates arrived at the player tunnel.

"Go China!"

"Go China!"

"Feng Feng Xiaoting!"

Cheers from the fans echoed from outside the tunnel, causing Tang Ye's heartbeat to quicken involuntarily.

"Hoo, hoo..."

"Hoo."

Soon Tang Ye's movements caught Zheng Zhi's attention: "No need to be nervous; you're someone who has played at the Bernabéu and the Camp Nou."

"But this time is different."

Tang Ye tugged at his jersey; a red flag emblem was affixed to the chest area.

"China Central Television, China Central Television Headquarters..."

(End of chapter)